Jade

Nietzsche

Many people assume that Beyond Good & Evil is a reference to the Friedrich Nietzsche book by the same name. Although you could probably make an argument – this game really has no connection to the German philosopher. As an action reporter, players need to investigate beyond the superficial facts of what is good and what is evil – which is dictated through government propaganda in the game. The player has to see what nobody else can see, what is hidden to the people of Hyllis. This theme is relevant to issues we face today – understanding the reasons behind the apparent facts.

Promotional websites

The publishers registered the websites for both the iris network (www.irisnetwork.net) and the Hyllian gov. (www.hylliannews.com) both featuring promotional material and assorted stuff.

Save games code

All the saved games in Beyond Good & Evil are marked with an "Internet Code". The purpose of this code is two-fold, first it enables you to go to the official website and check your ranking against all the other BG&E players in the world. Secondly, upon completion of the main game, you'll be able to use your saved game code on the official website and obtain instructions on how to go about obtaining missing MDisk #13 within the game.

Soundtrack

In the Beginning

Dancing With Domz

Home Sweet Home

Hyllian Suite

Mammago's Garage

Isle de Noir

Mineshaft Madness

Say Cheese, Fellas

Akuda House Propaganda

Ancient Chinese Secrets

Don't Fear the Reaper

Fear the Reaper

Fun and Mini-Games

Funky Bar 100

When Domz Attack

Slaughterhouse Scramble

Sneaky Jade Suite

Organic Beauty

Violent Jade Suite

Heart of Darkness

Metal Gear Domz

Something Completely Different

Behind Enemy Lines

Free Your Mind

Thoughtful Reflections

Enfants Disparus

Above and Beyond

Unacceptable Losses

In Hot Pursuit

Sins of the Father

Redemption

In February 2004, Ubisoft released MP3s of Beyond Good & Evil soundtrack to NintendoInsider.com. These are still available for download, but as of April 2005, downloaders must register with the web site and go to the Members-Only Board to receive a frequently changing password.

Title

According to Michel Ancel, the game was originally to be named Between Good & Evil, but the marketing department did not like that name, so it was changed to Beyond Good & Evil.

The original title I gave the game was Between Good & Evil (see my first logo included) - which the marketing department didn’t like back then. For me, the meaning of this title is that you are always in the middle of an internal and external conflict, based on our conception of good and evil. In this game and in our world, propaganda thinks in our place; tells us these are our enemies and these are our friends. When you go beyond the appearances, you discover your own truth. That’s the theme of the game and marketing finally accepted this title, and just replaced the between by beyond, which fits better with the vast universe and story.

Awards

4Players

2003 – Best PC Action-Adventure Game of the Year

2003 – Best Console Direction of the Year

2003 – Best PC Music of the Year

2003 – Best PC Direction of the Year

2003 – Biggest PC Surprise of the Year

EGM

February 2006 (Issue #200) - #171 out of 200 of the "Greatest Games of Their Time"